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A Staffordshire bull terrier called Lola has stopped straining at the leash and is stock-still, a biscuit on her nose, placed there by Alanah “Larnie” Jones, a moment before. “Wait…” Larnie commands. So we do. And wait. Until, at a given signal, Lola heads the biscuit into the air and catches it in her slavering chops.

“She can do the same with a sausage,” Larnie confides, before accepting a swift half from the Weavers’ prodigiously stocked bar – of which she is poised to take control as manager at 5pm. “I’ve left my husky at home,” she assures us.

The owner, Dean Cartwright, is away brewing in nearby Rowley Regis. His premium product, Unbeweavable (geddit?), is a classic Black Country ale, pale and hoppy with a satisfyingly bitter finish. Only £2.85 a pint, what’s more. In September, Camra members anointed the Weavers their West Midlands Pub of the Year (it’s since made it on to the national shortlist).

Not bad for a single-room former Polish restaurant. The glass door is still there, as is a patterned carpet that may well have been woven locally. No cellar beneath it, mind you. “It’s amazing how many barrels we’ve managed to fit into the kitchen,” says Larnie.

Books are much in evidence, both in the wallpaper and a small library of swappable hardbacks. Twelve hand-pumps are crammed on to the bar, eight dispensing ales and stouts and four draught ciders. There’s one “craft” draught lager, as well as the obligatory gin menu.

It’s amazing how many barrels we’ve managed to fit into the kitchen

The food menu, meanwhile, offers pork pie or Scotch eggs, one of which is encased in black pudding. There are also well-filled “cobs”, as they call bread rolls round here. Or you can bring in your own tucker, be it from the chippy next door or an Indian takeaway. Here’s a chance to savour a king prawn biryani while cooling the tongue with something tastier than “Indian” lager from Burton.

But I settle for a well-filled ham and cheese cob while listening to a venerable regular reminiscing about Kidderminster’s carpet-making heritage – and witnessing conclusive proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks.